Whenever a crime is committed, the perpetrator tries to hide the case. That is in their nature. They flee from the scene and let the police go through an endless search. Sometimes they are caught soon, and sometimes there are no pieces of evidence leading to the criminal at all. The second scenario happens in cases of rape mostly because the perpetrator or perpetrators flee the scene as soon as they either kill their victim or leave them in a vegetative state. Today we are going to talk about one such case where the criminal did not face any charges for years because he was not found anywhere. To know more about this horrific case, you will have to read this given piece.
How Did Bonnie Craig Die?
Let us get to know Bonnie Craig before we delve into the case directly. Bonnie Craig was a girl from Anchorage, a city in Alaska. She was in a stable relationship and was very committed to her boyfriend. Her family knew about her relationship, and they were supportive of her, as has been understood from the investigation. She was a university student. In 1994, she enrolled at the University of Alaska. Her educational details have not been disclosed except for the fact that she was an intellectual student and worked hard. She was only 18 and a freshman.
Bonnie Craig is currently a known name because of one of the episodes of the television show Dateline: Secrets Uncovered. As has been mentioned above, she was a university student, and on 28th September 1994, she got ready for her classes like usual days. However, things did not go according to the way they were supposed to.
Craig never reached her university that day. She was kidnapped and met with a horrendous fate. September 28, 1994, was the last day of her life. When she got out of the house at around 5-ish am for her university, before she could even reach the bus stand, she was kidnapped and the criminal took her to somewhere close to the McHugh creek. It was there where he brutally raped her, murdered her by bludgeoning the back of her head and threw her body down the creek. The body of Craig was found in the afternoon by a passerby.
Initial Investigation: The Case Of Bonnie Craig
When Bonnie’s body was found in the creek, it was sent for an autopsy immediately. In that autopsy, it was discovered that she had been raped and killed due to some serious injuries caused at the back of her head. Despite having this information, the police could not move forward with the case because there was no additional information found. They tried their heart and soul, but to no avail because the DNA samples did not match with anybody on the records then. The case was absurd, but it was not closed.
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Arrest Of The Perpetrator
Criminals have to submit their DNA samples before they are taken to prison. It is due to this decision that the criminal in Craig’s case could be arrested. The case of Bonnie Craig was one of the hardest cases to crack for the police department. Nevertheless, they did not leave the case behind. Instead, they were in search of the criminal. Any single hint was important for them in this scenario. The police department could not find any leads for almost about 12 years. In 2006, a new window opened up that gave the officials involved in the case some hint.
Kenneth Dion, a culprit, was arrested in 2006. As per the rules and regulations, he had to provide his DNA sample when he was arrested. It was this DNA sample that was the “moment of truth” for the officials who were working on the case of Bonnie Craig. When the DNA sample of the semen found on Craig’s body was investigated along with Dion’s sample, they matched. The officials did not waste any time and interrogated the culprit. At first, he stated that he had consensual sex with Bonnie Craig. He went as far as naming Craig as a debauched woman.
The officials did not go by the misleading information provided by Dion considering the proofs that were at hand. There were signs of physical violence on Craig’s body, and she definitely could not have thrown herself off the cliff for no reason. Consequently, Kenneth Dion was found guilty of rape and murder in 2011. He was sentenced to 124 years in prison, 99 for murder and 25 years for rape. He is currently incarcerated.